This invention relates to an electric toaster and in particular to a rack system for a toaster.
In a conventional toaster, a toasting enclosure having an open top is provided for receiving bread items for toasting. Typically, a toast carriage is provided in the enclosure slidable in a guide between an upper and a lower limit position and biased toward the upper limit position. To operate the toaster, bread items are placed in the upper portion of the enclosure supported by the toast carriage and then lowered fully into the enclosure by manually moving a handle connected to the toast carriage. The toast carriage is engaged in the lower limit position while the bread item is toasted. When the toasting operation is complete, the toast carriage is released and returned to the upper limit position raising the bread item for easy removal.
Some highly featured toasters include wire racks disposed along the sides of the toasting enclosure which pivot about their bottom edges and close together on a bread item when the toast carriage is lowered. The wire racks operate to center and hold bread items upright in the toasting enclosure for optimum toasting.
Unfortunately, many prior wire rack systems for clamping bread items give the impression of low quality because of their relatively noisy operation. Moreover, previous rack systems have included components which rattle and give the impression of poor quality when the toaster is moved. These impressions of poor quality are the result, in part, of sliding contact between metallic parts which are assembled in a relatively loose and unsecured manner.
Another disadvantage of the prior art clamping wire rack systems are their relative complexity and the corresponding difficulty in assembling these systems. This complexity increases failure rates and adds to the impression of poor quality.
The present invention offers an improvement over the prior art by providing a toaster which includes a clamping wire rack system which operates in a relatively smooth and quiet manner.
Further, the present invention provides a clamping wire rack system in a toaster which is relatively inexpensive and easy to assemble. The present invention provides a toaster having a base supporting an inner chassis which form a heating enclosure. The inner and outer chassis includes a first support wall and a second support wall extending outwardly from the base. A pair of opposed racks extend between the first and second support walls along the sides of the heating enclosure. Each rack has a bottom edge and a top edge wherein the bottom edges are hingedly supported by the support walls and the top edges are biased toward each other. The racks are rotatably supported by a plastic bearing and are biased along their axis of rotation to provide smooth and quiet rotation.
According to another aspect of the present invention, a slider rod extends from a control end of the base outside of the heating enclosure adjacent the second support wall. A plastic arm hub is slidingly supported by the slider rod and supports a toast carriage which extends longitudinally through the heating enclosure. The arm hub and toast carriage form an assembly which is slidable between an upper and lower limit position. The arm hub includes a plurality of bearing arms slidingly engaging the racks wherein in the upper limit position the bearing arms separate the top edges of the rack a first predetermined distance and in the lower limit position the top edges of the racks are separated a second predetermined distance.